NIGERIA/OIL/MOSOP: The president of the movement for the survival of the ogoni people (MOSOP) said Shell Oil’s acceptance of responsibility for two oil spills in 2008 and 2009 vindicates the ogoni people’s claims that the company had been responsible for environmental degradation in the region. Ledum Mitee said shell oil’s mea culpa and Thursday’s United Nations report on the magnitude and impact of oil spills in the Niger Delta prove that MOSOP’S non-violent agitation over the years can yield positive results.

LIBYA: The Libyan government is denying rebel claims that one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons has been killed in a NATO airstrike. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim called the reports "false news" designed to cover up the deaths of civilians in the western town of Zlitan.

UN/SUDAN: The United Nations says three Ethiopian peacekeepers died while Sudan refused to allow them to be flown to a hospital.

Abubuwa 10 da ya kamata ka sani a yau: Jumma'a, 05 Agusta 2011

HORN OF AFRICA/DROUGHT: The head of World Food Program in Ethiopia says the country's emergency food stocks are almost gone, the latest trouble caused by the drought in the Horn of Africa.

UN/IVORY COAST: A senior United Nations official says he will meet with former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo for an update on his treatment in detention.

SOUTH AFRICA/DIAMOND STRIKE: More than 1,300 diamond miners are headed back to work in South Africa after negotiating raises up to 10 percent.

UN/SOMALIA: The United Nations reports accurate mortality numbers in Somalia remain elusive, but estimates say tens of thousands of people have died from malnutrition and disease. In a telephone linkup from Nairobi, a UNHCR official who was in Somalia Thursday says the Al-Shabab militants are restraining Somalis from fleeing to neighboring countries because the group wants to recruit them as fighters for their movement. In the meantime, the World Health Organization reports a high risk of disease in drought areas due to lack of potable water.

LIBERIA VOTE/WOMEN CANDIDATES: Liberian voters made history five years ago by electing Africa's first female president. As Ellen Johnson-Sirelaf runs for re-election, voters will find few women candidates for other posts.

HEALTH: Rapid HIV Test: A new "lab on a chip" device promises a cheaper, easier and faster way to test people in remote parts of the developing world for HIV, syphilis and other infectious diseases. The credit card-sized plastic device, which performed well in recent field tests in Rwanda, samples droplets of blood using a tiny microchip, and requires just 20 minutes for a diagnosis.